LOS ANGELES – Lighting designer Robb Jibson of So Midwest, Inc., is using Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures on the latest Fall Out Boy tour in an unconventional way – as spotlights on the band’s tour of the U.S. and Canada. Using the Sharpys as spotlights lets him fit lights into venues that normally wouldn’t have room to accommodate traditional, and much bigger, FOH spotlights.
More details from A.C.T Lighting (www.actlighting.com):
“Developing a system of front light for a band that never stops moving while playing venues that range from clubs to arenas can be tough,” Jibson admits. “The quest to have consistent, constant and punchy front lights led me to carry our own. Using moving lights with the pan-and-tilts disabled is certainly nothing new, but the barrage of questions and sideways looks I get from the local promoter reps means that this hasn’t been done in the FOH position before in these size rooms.”
Using the Sharpys as spotlights enable him to fit lights into venues that normally wouldn’t have room to accommodate traditional, and much bigger, FOH spotlights. They also lend consistency in this position as Jibson can tour with his own units rather than use spotlights from the venues, which vary widely in style and quality over the course of a tour.
George Masek, A.C.T Lighting’s vice president, automated lighting, adds, “Robb always looks for unusual and unconventional ways to use our fixtures to make them more interesting and effective, but this time he’s outdone himself. I wouldn’t have believed this had I not seen it for myself, but using the Sharpys in this application really is the perfect solution.”
